Dr. Erik Holtved (
Greenlandic nickname: ''Erissuaq''; translation: "Big Eric") (21 June 1899 in
Fredericia
Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
– 1981 in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Denmark) was a
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
artist, archaeologist, linguist, and ethnologist. He was the first university-trained ethnologist to study the
Inughuit
The Inughuit (also spelled Inuhuit), or the Smith Sound Inuit, historically Arctic Highlanders, are Greenlandic Inuit. Formerly known as "Polar Eskimos", they are the northernmost group of Inuit and the northernmost people in North America, livin ...
, the northernmost Greenlandic
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
.
Career
Holtved was born in Fredericia, Denmark in 1899.
An artist early on, in 1931, he was selected by
Knud Rasmussen
Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (; 7 June 1879 – 21 December 1933) was a Greenlandic–Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" (now often known as Inuit Studies or Greenlandic and Arctic Studies ...
to head the Sixth Thule Expedition to
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
which changed the course of his life. His field trips to Greenland continued in 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935–1937,
and 1946–1947.
He received his master's degree (1941) and doctorate (1944) at the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
.
As an archaeologist, he researched Eskimo archaeology in the
Julianehaab
Qaqortoq, formerly Julianehåb, is a city in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town and the municipal capital in southern Greenland and the f ...
district,
Disko Bay
Disko Bay ( kl, Qeqertarsuup tunua; da, DiskobugtenChristensen, N.O. & al.Elections in Greenland. ''Arctic Circular'', Vol. 4 (1951), pp. 83–85. Op. cit. "Northern News". ''Arctic'', Vol. 5, No. 1 (Mar 1952), pp. 58–59.) is a large ...
, and
Inglefield Land
Inglefield Land is an unglaciated area along the northwestern coast of Greenland. It was named after English explorer Edward Augustus Inglefield.
History
Inglefield Land is noted for its archaeological sites, which show evidence of occupation by ...
. In 1931, he did work in the Lindenows Fjord area of southern Greenland, excavating 25 houses and unearthing 2,000 artifacts. In the 1930s, he was the first to identify the
Ruin Island
Ruin Island is a small island off the coast of the Inglefield Land region of northwest Greenland. In the 1930s, Danish archaeologist Erik Holtved discovered the remains of human habitation on the island. The culture associated with this archae ...
Phase of the
Thule culture
The Thule (, , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by the year 1000 and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people o ...
in northwest
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
. He excavated the
Comer's Midden
Comer's Midden was a 1916 archaeological excavation site near Thule (modern Qaanaaq), north of Mt. Dundas in North Star Bay in northern Greenland.Thule Forum, 2006 It is the find after which the Thule culture was named. The site was first excavat ...
site from 1935 to 1937, and again from 1946 to 1947. He surveyed the Greenland coast from
Humboldt Glacier
Humboldt Glacier ( da, Humboldt Gletscher) is one of the major glaciers in northern Greenland.
The glacier is named after German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt and is the widest tidewater glacier in the Northern Hemisphere.
Geography
The Humb ...
to
Thule
Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek and Latin literature, Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shet ...
.
As a linguist, Holtved participated in the study of
Eskimo–Aleut
The Eskaleut (), Eskimo–Aleut or Inuit–Yupik–Unangan languages are a language family native to the northern portions of the North American continent and a small part of northeastern Asia. Languages in the family are indigenous to parts of w ...
phonetic notation
Phonetic transcription (also known as phonetic script or phonetic notation) is the visual representation of speech sounds (or ''phones'') by means of symbols. The most common type of phonetic transcription uses a phonetic alphabet, such as the I ...
with
William Thalbitzer and
Knut Bergsland
Knut Bergsland (7 March 1914 – 9 July 1998) was a Norwegian linguist. Working as a professor at the University of Oslo from 1947 to 1981, he did groundbreaking research in Uralic (especially Sami) and Eskaleut languages.
Career
He was born in Kr ...
.
Regarding Eskimo
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, he published several scholarly works, including, ''The Eskimo Myth about the Sea-woman'', ''The Eskimo legend of Navaranâq'', ''Myths and tales translated'', and ''The Polar Eskimos: Language and Folklore'' which included song texts.
In ''Eskimokunst : Eskimo art'' he surveyed Eskimo art, including items such as dolls,
Tupilaq
In Greenlandic Inuit religion, a (, , or in Inuktitut syllabics) was an avenging monster fabricated by a practitioner of witchcraft or shamanism by using various objects such as animal parts (bone, skin, hair, sinew, etc.) and even parts taken ...
s, containers, garments, and maps.
Upon Thalbitzer's retirement, Holtved became Professor of
Eskimology
Eskimology or Inuitology is a complex of humanities and sciences studying the languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of the speakers of Eskimo–Aleut languages and Inuit, Yupik and Aleut (or Unangam), sometimes collect ...
at the University of Copenhagen.
Later years
He lived for a time at 14 Hauser Plads, Copenhagen, Denmark.
After retiring from the university, Holtved painted again. He died in Copenhagen on 24 May 1981.
Partial works
* (1914). ''Archaeological investigations in the Thule district''
* (1900s). ''Mackenzie eskimo ordliste efter Petito''
* (1936). ''The eskimo archaeology of Julianehaab District''
* (1943). ''The Eskimo legend of Navaranâq''
* (1947). ''Eskimokunst: Eskimo art''
* (1951). ''The Polar Eskimos, language and folklore 2, Myths and tales translated''
* (1952). "Remarks on the Polar Eskimo dialect", ''International Journal of American Linguistics''
* (1962). ''Eskimo shamanism''
* (1962). ''Otto Fabricius' Ethnographical works''
* (1963). ''Tornarssuk, an Eskimo Deity''
* (1967). "Contributions to Polar Eskimo ethnography". ''
Meddelelser om Grønland
''Meddelelser om Grønland'' ("''Communications on Greenland''") is a Danish scientific periodical which publishes scientific results from all fields of research on Greenland. It was established by Frederik Johnstrup and published as a single seri ...
''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holtved, Erik
1899 births
1981 deaths
Danish artists
Danish archaeologists
Danish ethnologists
Linguists from Denmark
People from Fredericia
University of Copenhagen alumni
Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen
Linguists of Eskaleut languages
20th-century archaeologists
20th-century linguists
Eskimologists